Just Another Day on the Playground
by ChemicallyEnhanced
Summary: Little Ritsu Onodera meets 8 year old Masamune Takano in the park. Fluff or something.
1. First Meeting, Spring Greeting

Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi (or Harry Potter, I guess) because SQUEEEE!

* * *

The day was perfect, not too sunny with just the right amount of wind; it was the middle of spring. Birds chirped. Children laughed and played. In a well-known park somewhere on the outskirts of downtown Tokyo, a little boy by the name of Ritsu Onodera flew a red kite. His stubbly legs ran him around the grassy areas of the park, around other children and supervising parents. His own watched on fondly, smiling and shaking their heads at his playful antics.

Giggling, Ritsu watched on as his kite flew merrily in the breeze, chasing the clouds and making its home in the blue sky. His green trainers pounded on the grass, his brown hair fluttering about in the wind. The string he held so tightly in his hands rubbed up against the soft skin of his palms, but he didn't care. He was having too much fun at this moment. All of a sudden, he tripped over a crack in the asphalt, letting go of his kite. He scraped his knees, making the skin there red with irritation.

He couldn't cry, though. He was too old to cry over something like this. Tears stinging the corners of his eyes, he stood up and wiped the dirt off his knees, wincing when he touched the sensitive red skin there. He looked up and around. His kite was nowhere to be found. Eyes widening in panic, he ran around, trying to find that red kite he loved so much. He gasped, grinning when he found it; it was stuck in the lower branches of a tree, right next to someone sitting on a bench, face buried in a book.

Ritsu hurried over, ignoring the other person. He needed to get his kite. Standing on the old roots of the tree, he reached up for the string, his short fingers struggling to grasp the thin string. He was too short. He whined, pouting.

Another hand came into his vision, handing him the string. Ritsu gasped in surprise, turning to thank the person who helped him. It was that person who was reading the book earlier, now tucked under his arm. He seemed to be only a year or so older than Ritsu's six years, with dark hair and amber eyes that stared at him intensely.

"Here you go," the boy said, placing the kite string into Ritsu's hand. His hand was warm…

Ritsu beamed, his white teeth showing, cheeks pink with joy. "Thank you for getting my kite!"

The boy shrugged and started heading back to his bench.

"Wait!" Ritsu called, stumbling after him. "What's your name?" For some reason, he didn't want to leave this boy alone just yet.

Turning around, the boy sighed, like answering questions had become troublesome. "Why do you want to know?"

Ritsu suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. He held his hands behind his back, kicking at a pebble. "I thought you looked lonely, so maybe you could play with me. Please?" Ritsu knew saying "please" was polite; his mommy had taught him that.

The boy thought a moment. "Only if you tell me your name first."

Cheerful once more, Ritsu nodded vigorously. "Okay! My name is Ritsu! But An-chan calls me Ricchan, so you can call me that too if you want!"

The boy smothered a smile at this younger's cuteness. "Hi there, Ritsu. My name is Masamune."

"M-masa…wahh! That's such a long name!" Ritsu whined. He thought for a second. "Can I call you Moony?"

"Moony?" Masamune laughed behind his hand. "Why?"

"It's easier!" Ritsu pouted. "Now c'mon, let's go play!" He grabbed onto Masamune's wrist, pulling the older boy along.

Masamune hid a secret smile.

"Okay, so!" Ritsu announced, smiling widely as stood in front of the wheel on the pirate ship. "I'm the Captain of this ship and you're a cabin boy. Ahoy maties!" He spun the playground wheel around, pretending he was maneuvering his ship through turbulent seas.

Confused, Masamune tilted his head. "What's the point of this? It's not real."

Ritsu gasped dramatically and hobbled over to Masamune, covering his mouth with a small hand. "Don't say that, Moony! Anything is real with imagi...imeg—"

"Imagination?"

"Yeah, that's it!" Ritsu smiled again, feeling pleased and removing his hand. "If you have that, you can be anything you want."

Masamune was silent for a minute. "Could I be a prince?"

Ritsu gaped and immediately bowed low to the ground. "Of course, Your Highness."

Smiling slyly, Masamune held an invisible scepter and tapped it on each of Ritsu's shoulders. "Alright then. Now you're my knight. Protect me, knight!"

"Yes, Your Highness!" Raising his invisible sword, Ritsu yelled, pretending there were enemies right outside the borders of the playground as he slashed and hacked away at them. Masamune shouted along with him in encouragement.

"Sir Ritsu!" Masamune sounded like he was choking.

Ritsu swiveled around, seeing his Prince on the ground and pretending he was dying. He hurried over to Masamune swiftly and dropped down next to him. "Your Highness! Are you okay?"

"N-no...I don't believe I'll make it…"

"There must be some way to help!" Ritsu was distressed.

Masamune actually had to think about that for a bit. He'd heard of fairytales in which the prince revived the princess by giving her a kiss, but Ritsu wasn't the prince; he was. So that wouldn't work. Inwardly, he shrugged. Anything had to work at this point. "Only…only a kiss can save me now…"

"A…k-kiss?!" Inexplicably, Ritsu found himself blushing. Only his parents did that, and very rarely in front of him, and they were a boy and a girl. He and Masamune were both boys. Was that normal?

"Y-yes…" Masamune tried to make it seem he was about to take his last breath, and he reached out a cleverly-trembling hand. "H-hurry…"

Ritsu knew what to do instantly. He leaned over Masamune and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, jerking up suddenly when he felt his face warm. "T-there, Your Highness!" He regained his senses quickly. "You are saved!" Ritsu stood up and thrust his invisible sword in the air, shouting happily. "I saved you!"

Masamune stood up as well and smiled at Ritsu, even going so far as to bow. "Thank you, Sir Ritsu. You've saved my life and done a great deed for your kingdom." He'd read a line like this in one of his books at home, so it seemed to sound right.

Radiating pride, Ritsu giggled to himself at Masamune's bowing. "Your Highness, you're not supposed to bow to me! I do that to you!"

"Ah, but good knight, what sort of reward should I give you then?"

Ritsu paused. What could Moony give him? Oh! "A promise, Your Highness."

"What sort of promise?"

"A…a promise to always be friends!" Ritsu nodded decisively, crossing his arms.

Raising an eyebrow, Masamune stood up straight. "How can you make that kind of promise? We might even forget each other tomorrow."

"No!" Once Ritsu had set his mind to something, he never gave it up. "We won't be like that! We'll always be friends, promise!" In truth, he didn't want to leave his new playmate yet, someone who seemed so smart and mature yet who could have fun at the same time. It made his head hurt just thinking about it.

"Alright, alright. Promise."

"Pinky promise," Ritsu insisted, holding his smallest finger out.

Masamune smiled strangely, but he shook Ritsu's pinky anyways. "Pinky promise."

"Yay! Now we'll be friends forever!"

Masamune only shook his head and smiled, not knowing how accurate—or inaccurate, rather—Ritsu's statement would be in years to come.

* * *

A/N: News flash—I might continue this again. *gasps*

-ChemicallyEnhanced


	2. The Beginning of a Life

So I decided to make this short story a two-shot. Or something. I don't know, I might make this a (short) series of drabbles of them as little kids or whatever. Because it's cute; does there need to be another reason?

Tell me if you guys would like that.

* * *

The next day Ritsu was hoping to see his new friend again; he'd even brought one of his favorite toy trucks with him to the park so he and Moony could play with it. His parents were confused as to why he would want to visit the same place so eagerly two days in a row—he _was_ known for changing his mind rather quickly—but they didn't question when he pulled on their wrists and whined about going back. Laughing and pretending that the truck could fly—in his mind, it could!—he ran ahead of his mom as they walked over to the nearby park. She only shook her head and smiled at his playfulness.

Once Ritsu reached the park, he immediately scanned the entire area for Moony, finding other little kids and parents and even a teenager sitting on a bench to the left, but no Moony. He drooped, pouting and suddenly feeling like he didn't want to play anymore. His mom nudged him forward as she looked around to find a seat.

"Come on, Ritsu. Didn't you want to play today?" She asked with a kind smile.

Ritsu kicked at the pavement. "Yeah…but I made a friend yesterday and he's not here." He directed his pout up to her, his lower lip trembling.

"Aw…" His mother kneeled down to him and pulled him into a hug, secretly wondering who this friend was because she'd kept an eye on him the whole time they were there the day before. "Well, maybe he's just not here today and he'll be back tomorrow. Don't worry, sweetheart."

Ritsu sniffed as he looked over the park again, like Moony would have showed up in the two minutes he didn't check. "Okay, mommy. Can I go play now?"

She laughed softly. "Sure, pet. Go on ahead." She patted his head.

He let go of his mom and hurried down the path to where the grassy area was, plopping down onto the ground and rolling his truck around, though he didn't feel as enthusiastic as when he'd been playing with Moony. His mother looked on a bit worriedly; her Ritsu had never been this upset over not meeting a friend again. He'd always been able to make new friends easily, even at such a young age. Ah well…he would grow out of it in a few days.

In a few minutes, Ritsu was slightly more cheerful than before; he was pretending that his truck was crushing all of the nasty bugs in the grass, a monster that would destroy anything in its path. Making car sounds that were completely inaccurate—he was only six, after all—he ran his truck around and felt a little better when he crushed an actual bug. Bugs were gross, like girls. He paused to wrinkle his nose for a moment before continuing on with his adventures.

After a while, though, he grew bored, and he looked around the park to see if there was anything else he could play with. Since all there was to play with were the playground—and it wasn't any fun unless he played with someone else—or the other kids—who were strangers, and his mom had always said not to talk to strangers—Ritsu felt that he didn't want to spend any more time here.

Dusting off his shorts, he bounded over to his mom and tugged on her hand. "Mommy, I want to go home now."

She put down the book she was reading. "Already? You haven't been here very long."

"I know, but I'm bored and I have more toys and books at home," he complained, pulling even more insistently on her arm.

Sighing, she rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "Alright, Ritsu. Let's go home."

As they left, Ritsu never noticed the sad amber eyes watching them from behind a tree.

* * *

Ritsu hummed, in a much better mood after his favorite breakfast— _natto_ (1), which was surprising since most little kids hated it—held his mom's hand and followed her as they crossed the road to the park. Since he didn't expect Moony to be there again, he had brought some of the books his dad gave him, simple ones with lots of pictures. But he enjoyed them immensely anyways because they were always so happy.

He sat down underneath an opening on the playground and cracked open a book, already loving the illustrations on the first page. Following the words on the page with one small finger—because that's how his teacher told him to read!—he mouthed the words silently to himself, some kind of story about a baby chick and what he did every day. He loved this story, and always giggled whenever he read it.

As he reached the part about the baby chick needing a bath, another finger made its presence known on top of his book. Ritsu looked up and gasped, for there was Moony leaning into his secret hideout with one hand on the playground supporting his weight. Ritsu placed the book on the ground and lunged at his very-missed friend.

"Moony! I missed you!" They both tumbled onto the sand, the grainy substance getting onto both of their clothes, but Ritsu didn't care. He was too busy being happy about seeing his friend again.

Moony patted at Ritsu's back hesitantly. "I…really?"

Ritsu pulled back to look at that face he missed so much, nodding furiously. "Of course!"

"But you saw me two days ago." Moony tilted his head, confused.

"I know, but…still! You're my friend and we're supposed to always be together!" Ritsu pouted.

A small smile coming to his lips, Moony replied, "Well, we can't be together _all_ the time. What about eating and sleeping and bathing?"

Ritsu thought for just a second. "Then come over to my house and we'll do that together!"

Moony couldn't help but laugh softly. "No, I can't. I have to go home sometimes. Get off me, stupid!" He grinned, shoving at Ritsu.

"You're no fun." Ritsu shoved back teasingly, but acquiesced, standing up and holding a hand out so Moony could get up too.

"Why weren't you here yesterday, Moony?" Ritsu asked as they settled into his small hiding spot; they had to squeeze together tightly in order to fit, but neither minded.

Unbeknownst to Ritsu, Moony's smile tightened just a bit as he answered, "Oh, nothing. My parents just wouldn't let me. Busy, you know?"

"Busy with what?" Ah, Ritsu was so innocent, his eyes wide with such naïve curiosity like he couldn't possibly know what was going on.

Moony shook his head once, curtly. "Nothing. Just stuff." He felt his hands tremble slightly at the thought of it, but he kept them hidden in his jacket pockets. "A-anyways, what should we play today?"

Ritsu perked up instantly and picked up the books he brought with him. "You like books, right? Well, I brought some today, so maybe we can read them together!"

Smiling a bit tiredly—though Masamune made sure Ritsu would never notice—he angled his head in agreement. "Sure. We can do that, Ritsu."

So they spent the next hour reading through Ritsu's books—even though Masamune read through them a lot quicker than Ritsu—and occasionally making small comments here and there about certain things.

"How can someone have fun playing in the mud? That's so dirty," Moony wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Ritsu only giggled. "It's just a story, Moony! It doesn't have to make a lot of sense."

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, and leaned closer to Ritsu to be able to read the words better. Ritsu's presence there was comforting and warm—he really wasn't sure what this meant—and he knew that he wanted to stay with him for as long as he could. "You could have at least brought some books that didn't have so many pictures."

"I can't read that much yet!" Ritsu sulked, and Masamune thought he looked cute like that. "What kind of books do _you_ read, then?"

Moony shrugged, his shoulder brushing Ritsu's as he did. "Sarukani, Kasakojizou (2), those kinds of books."

"Those are little kid's books, too, Moony!"

"But they don't have as many pictures," he teased, poking Ritsu's nose.

Ritsu's lower lip jutted out, and he poked Moony's nose back. "You're older than me!"

"Yeah, but not by a lot. How old are you, anyways?" Moony bumped against Ritsu's shoulder.

"I'm 6 years old!" For some reason, Ritsu felt proud of his age and being able to read so much already, though he _did_ feel a bit embarrassed that he was also so young.

"I'm 8. See? Not that much older."

"No fair!"

Moony only laughed and bumped against Ritsu's shoulder again. "Just because I was born before you. It doesn't matter, Ritsu."

Ritsu set the book down and proceeded to sulk again.

"Aw…." Not even hesitating, Moony pulled Ritsu into a hug, the kind only little kids could do that was still innocent. "Hey, guess what?"

Ritsu still didn't answer, but he lifted his head a little.

"If it makes you feel better, I think you're as smart as me." Moony smiled.

Eyes widening, Ritsu looked up at him. "R-really?"

Moony nodded fervently. "Really really. And…and if you work harder in school, you might even become smarter than me!" Of course not, but a little kid could dream, couldn't he?

Ritsu brightened up considerably with Moony's words. He pulled himself out of his embrace and punched a small fist into his hand, suddenly very determined. "I'll work hard so one day, I can be smarter than you!" Now completely joyful, Ritsu picked the book up where he'd left it and opened it again. "Let's keep reading, Moony!"

Sighing and smiling quietly at Ritsu's silly behavior, Moony settled back next to Ritsu's side and continued reading along.

He would tell Ritsu another day.

* * *

A/N: Ah, this is so cute. I can't even believe it.

(1) _Natto_ is a fermented soybean dish that Japanese little kids apparently eat (I've read you either hate it or love it, so let's just assume Ritsu loves it).

(2) Sarukani and Kasakojizou are Japanese children folktales.

-ChemicallyEnhanced


End file.
